1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to backing large vehicles that are characterized by blind spots in the rear and, more particularly, to spotters who often assist drivers by watching the rear, standing ready to communicate a signal to stop.
2. Description of the Related Art
Large vehicles in enormous numbers such as trucks of all shapes and sizes routinely deliver goods and services to our society each day. Fire engines, recreational vehicles and other types of big rigs populate our roadways as well. All drivers of such vehicles in the normal course of operation must back them up. In the case of delivery trucks and fire engines for example, they must backed numerous times in the course of a normal day.
Unlike an automobile's center cab mounted rear view mirror, many large vehicles are characterized by trailers or high storage boxes that obstruct a direct rearward view through a back window. Instead, drivers of large vehicles such as these must rely on side mounted mirrors, which by nature provide only a limited view of the rear.
Backing large vehicles with inherent blind spots is difficult and dangerous to the extent that often, when available, a spotter in the rear is used to assist the driver in safely backing to a desired position. The spotter generally watches from a rear vantage point monitoring changing conditions and stands ready to communicate a signal to stop.
The all important signal to stop has been accomplished traditionally through a hand signal visualized in one of the drivers side mount mirrors. Other methods to signal a driver include such things as shouts to stop, whistles, waved red flags and blinking flashlights, to cite a few. These methods are effective only to the extent that the driver can see the spotter in one of the mirrors, or hear over the noise of the engine and surrounding conditions. Backing at night, in inclement weather, heavy rain, fog, shadows and glare from the sun can severely hamper the drivers ability to see a signal to stop from a spotter. In addition, as the spotter walks backward behind the backing vehicle he routinely drifts in and out of the drivers sight in the mirrors. These situations and conditions can critically affect or delay an emergency signal to stop.
In recent years, remote camera systems have been developed to assist drivers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,819,231 discloses a device for parking or maneuvering vehicles using a rear facing video camera and a graphic display in the cab. In addition, beeping sensors mounted on vehicle bumpers have been developed to assist the driver in the absence of a spotter, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,873,250 and 6,268,803. These systems have proven to be helpful to a point, but are considered “passive” in the sense that a driver must still look in his mirrors and be responsible for knowing what is behind him as he backs. Further, these types of systems are not fool proof.
Camera systems for example, fail to provide a driver with depth perception and peripheral vision. Because of this, the manufacturers of such devices generally recommend that the rear view mirrors continue as the primary focus of the driver when backing. A driver who is advised by a camera system manufacturer not to back while looking at the camera monitor, cannot therefore visualize in such a system, changing conditions in the rear blind spot. Rear sensor systems suffer similarly from the fact that they generally cannot distinguish between normally occurring objects and those that would pose a threat of collision. This tends to generate false signals to stop and creates a situation where the driver can become de-sensitized to the system.
Intercom systems using voice communication between the driver and a spotter are another approach to the problem of backing. On the surface this would appear to be a good solution, but factors such as exterior noise can cover a voice command. Common back-up beepers, which are in use widely by large vehicles have a tendency, for example, to overshadow intercom voice communications. Wireless versions of intercom systems can suffer from broken signals, static and radio signal interference.
Fire departments, for many years, had members stand on the fire engine's tailboard facing the rear to act as a safety spotter while the rig backed up. The firefighter on the tailboard would use a button mounted on the back of the fire engine that actuated a bell in the cab signaling the driver. One ring meant stop now. Two rings meant its ok to pull forward, and three rings meant its ok to back-up. This simple and very effective system of using a spotter on the tailboard with a direct and positive ability to communicate an emergency stop signal has contributed enormously to overall safety while backing fire engines down through the years. While difficult to quantify, there is no doubt that thousands of accidents were avoided by using this method.
In August of 2004 the fire service thinking on this subject was shaken to the core. A tragic backing accident took the life of Jamie Foster, a young probationary fire fighter working for the City of Los Angeles. Jamie and the other members of her Engine Company had just battled a structure fire, and were preparing to return to quarters. Jamie was on the tailboard acting as a spotter, helping the driver slowly back down a residential street. Suddenly, she lost consciousness and collapsed unable to push the button to signal the driver to stop. She fell off the tailboard and into the path of the apparatus rear wheels. The driver had no way of knowing what had happened and continued to back-up, crushing her to death. This terrible incident inspired the development of the current invention described within this application.
Government agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health Association, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the National Fire Protection Association, have published documents addressing the issue of spotters riding on a fire engine's tailboard. In concert, they now recommend that no person stand or ride on any fire apparatus tailboard while the vehicle is in motion. This of course has placed the fire fighter spotter back on the ground, using hand signals to communicate. What is troublesome is that this new ruling did not effectively solve the problem. In fact, the spotter, though not on the fire engine tailboard, is still operating in close proximity to the backing fire engine. It has been argued that the spotter may now be in even greater danger. Nevertheless, the majority of fire departments in this country today routinely utilize a spotter walking backwards in the rear and hand signals to back their apparatus.
Accidents, injuries and deaths have occurred in very large numbers from incidents involving backing such vehicles. Using a spotter greatly enhances a drivers ability to back safely, however a spotter generally does so in harms way of the backing vehicle. What is tantamount is providing a spotter the ability to instantly and positively signal a driver to stop, while at the same time establishing a way to protect him should he fall or become disabled while standing in or near the path of the backing apparatus.
The spotting and signaling methods heretofore known, as described above, and common to most large trucks and vehicles during backing, suffer from a number of disadvantages:
(a) Visual signals watched for in a drivers mirror can easily be missed or critically delayed due to adverse conditions, noise, weather and or other hindrances.
(b) A driver looking back and forth between his two side mirrors, as is normal while backing, can result in delayed or missed signals to stop, greatly increasing the possibility of an accident.
(c) In the event that a spotter is suddenly disabled, falls, or suffers a sudden loss of consciousness, the driver may be left unaware and continue backing, greatly increasing the possibility of serious injury or accident.
(d) For hand signals be seen by the driver, the spotter must stay in relatively close proximity to the backing vehicle increasing the danger of being struck or run over.
(e) Usually, a visual hand signal alone is used to communicate with the driver stimulating only one of his physical senses.
(f) Noise from the engine and other surrounding conditions may cover a shout or a whistle to stop, increasing the possibility of an accident.